A Sad Day in the History of Kuwait
Initially I didn’t want to write about it, didn’t want a heinous act of terror to have a permenant mark on my memory and my future, but how could it not when we’ve spent an entire weekend in shock, tears streaming down our faces without the slightest attempt to stop them or wipe their residue of my glasses.
It started like any other happy weekend morning, I indulged in sleep that I was deprived off during the week, I woke up for prayers and read Surat Al-Kahf from the Holy Quran. My husband was just back from the mosque when I sat on my couch next to him, thinking about what to cook for iftar and deciding to check out a recipe I’ve seen earlier on Instagram, when I saw the video.
At first I read the word “explosion”… tafjeer in Arabic, nasty word. Next to it came “Sawaber”, somehow it didn’t register, for Sawaber was an area in Kuwait, my Kuwait, as a matter of fact it was smack in the middle of the heart of Kuwait City in an area that is both beautifully old yet coming alive, dotted by hip and young establishments like Al-Makan and Vol. 1. A peaceful spot in town where old meets new, very near and dear to everyone. People were gathered for Friday prayers, a holy day in the holiest of the Islamic months, Ramadan. A hot summer day, and they are fasting, kneeling before god, and a coward in the name of a religion he knows nothing about comes from behind and blows himself up, thinking he is a martyr on his way to heaven.
My tears began pouring at once, and almost 48 hours later they wouldn’t stop. 26 innocent souls are lost, 200+ injured, families who were waiting for their men to come back from Friday prayer to ask what would they like to have for iftar, only they’d be waiting forever, and for what?
An act that tarnishes the name of a sacred religion like Islam is nothing but terror, and terror knows no morals, no mercy, no compassion, and almost certainly no religion for religion is the purposes of all that is good and pure. If anyone ever though Isis, or any other form of terrorist organisation, was killing innocent people and spilling sacred human blood in the name of any religion, then they must have never known a true religion in their heart.
All of Kuwait came together since yesterday as one, both Sunni muslims and Shia muslims whose mosque was bombed. The Blood Bank was bombarded with blood donors of both Kuwaitis and expats to the point of turning people away, asking them to come back tomorrow. The medical staff of all hospitals where working around the clock tending to the wounded and operating on them, volunteers and ministry of interior men were found everywhere helping out. I don’t think there was a house yesterday who cared much for iftar o had much to eat at all. Whenever you think that there are 26 families who were robbed out of their loved ones, and 200 others who are in the hospital next to their wounded, the searing pain it causes erases all other mundane needs
The 26 martyrs of Kuwait were buried today, condolences to their families will be given out in the grand mosque of Kuwait for 3 days. Today Kuwait is in mourning, our hearts goes out to the martyrs but as a country and as a community we’ve proven that, contrary to what the terrorists had hoped for, we are one united in blood and pain against all threats.
I think I will stop here. It still hurts to accept, to think such a thing did happen on our soil in the cherished month of Ramadan. Please stay strong, people in Kuwait and everywhere. Terror has no religion.
